Hong Kong Police Arrests Protesters After Fresh Clashes

Streets of Mong Kok are quiet once again after police arrested dozens of protesters in that area of Hong Kong. Overnight clashes between the police and protesters were witnessed after police tried to clear streets where the protesters had gathered Friday night and early Saturday morning to demonstrate.

Hong Kong Police said that as many as 28 people have been arrested and at least eight police officials have been injured in the scuffle, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The pro-democracy demonstrators were attempting to retake an area of Argyle Street, which they had occupied for almost nine weeks in the past. Friday night, hundreds began to assemble in the Mong Kok area of Kowloon district.

The police did not want the protesters to reclaim the area, which is infamous for being one of the city's largest and most volatile protest sites. The police officials baton-charged the protesters with shields, pepper spray and also wrestled a number of them to the ground.  The youngest of the arrested protesters is 16 years old.

"Is there a need to really use so much force to beat us. We're not trying to cause violence but when they attack us we fight back," said Wong Ching-san, a young protester wearing a black jacket and flip flops, Reuters reports.

Medical volunteers said that they had treated scores of injured at their first aid station at the site. Some had head injuries and grazes, while others had been pepper sprayed in their eyes.

The pro-democracy protesters are calling for the right to choose their own leader, or Chief Executive, in 2017 without any interference from the Chinese government.

At present, the residents of Hong Kong are allowed to only vote for a political leader selected from the candidates that the Chinese central government chooses. This is in contrast to their previous claims. The people of Hong Kong want absolute democracy and not selective democracy that the Chinese government is offering.